Blinking lights problem

For a few years we have noticed times when our lights dimmed off and on. As I recall this was mostly in the morning, probably when we would most notice it. At one point we called the electric company to have a look. They checked things out and told us to get an electrician in to check it. We did that and nothing was found. So time went on.

A week ago I was washing laundry and on the wash and rinse cycle the lights in the house blinked along with the pulsing of the machine. We called an electrician. Two of them came out and pretty quickly found a loose neutral wire in the light switch in that room. They tightened it and the pulsing stopped. We rejoiced.

A couple mornings later we again noticed the dimming/blinking that we normally had. We decided to have it looked into again. We were more worried about it after being told by the electricians that these problems can cause serious damage. We called a different electrician who did an inspection and found that the problem seemed to be in the area of the outside electric meter box. He named 4 possibilities. He couldn’t remove the tag and look inside, so he told us to call the electric company. He gave us his number to call if needed and left.

The electric company came soon after and showed me the loose neutral wire in the “can” as they call it. This box had the thick wires that bring the electricity in from the transformer. The loose connection could not be tightened. The box had to be replaced. I called the electrician and he came back in a few minutes while the people from the electric company kindly waited. They spoke, turned the power off at the transformer, and the electrician got what he needed to replace it. Meanwhile we have a generator which gave us power. We were so grateful for the thoughtfulness of these people taking care to coordinate for our benefit.

The new box replaced the one that came with the house in 1975, so new codes required a surge suppressor and a different grounding system. The electrician worked hard for several hours and got it done. Someone from the electric company came to turn the power back on soon after he finished. Now the lights are steady. I suppose it could be our imagination, but major appliances seem to run smoother now too.